The Watcher in the Darkness
by gamer4
Summary: The students of Hope's Peak Academy thought their worst day would be marked by the death of one of their own, never suspecting the madness yet to ensue. A dark force wanders the halls, never interfering, simply watching. Always watching...


Gamer4 in, fulfilling my legal obligation to try dipping my toe into a new fandom at least once a year. I'd generally like to stick to one. Last time I tried more than that, it was kind of a disaster. Anyways, welcome to my first story on behalf of Dangan Ronpa, just in time to completely miss Halloween! My apologies, I came up with it a tad late. I hope that doesn't put anyone off. Those of you familiar with my work may wonder what this story is based on- that _is _the type of story I'm best known for, after all. But the truth is... no direct inspiration this time. There's a _loose _inspiration, which I'm sure some among you will pick up at one point or another, but I'll be remaining mum on that, even- I want to see if you can use your Dangley Ropes skills to put it together on your own. But aside from that, yup, no direct source this time- most of this story will actually be coming from me. A chance to flex that part of my brain, in preparation for _entirely _original fiction. This _does _take place in a non-despair AU, as should become clear soon enough- there may be some events similar to the canon games, but do not expect canon to be directly followed. I hope you all enjoy. Let us begin.

Disclaimer: For the first time- and the only time this story- I do _not _own any games in the Dangan Ronpa franchise- they all belong to Spike Chunsoft. Get it? Got it? Good.

The Watcher in the Darkness

Prologue

Departure

There was nothing in the air signaling the events to come. The day was stormy- rather, it was pleasantly sunny, very few clouds in the sky- something becoming increasingly uncommon as Autumn dug its claws into the land further and further.

Makoto Naegi awoke to a pleasant beam of sunlight filtering into his room and falling over his face. In vain, he attempted to turn over and evade the waking world for just a moment longer, before finally surrendering and lifting himself to his feet. A moment later, he had pulled on his traditional hoodie and pants before opening the door to his room and exiting into the main hall of the Hope's Peak dorms.

He leapt back momentarily as another boy crossed in front of him- taller, a pair of glasses on his face, just beneath his blond bangs, it could be none other than Byakuya Togami, heir to the Togami conglomerate- a fact he rarely hesitated to remind others of.

Makoto cringed as he realized who he'd so nearly run into- the heir was hardly known for keeping his often aggravated thoughts to himself. He braced himself for the coming storm.

"Naegi..."

Here it came...

"At least _try _to watch where you're going. If you find yourself in need of glasses or corrective surgery, let it be known I do _not _intend to pay for it."

With that, Byakuya was on his way again, leaving Makoto staring after him wide-eyed.

He was so surprised he didn't notice the next boy until his arm was slung over his shoulder. "Whoo, I thought you were a dead man there! What sorta drugs did you have to slip him to get off without blowing up the whole school?"

Makoto smiled gently as he turned to see Leon Kuwata, his first friend in Hope's Peak Academy, home of the students bearing the hope of Japan- nay, the hope of the _world- _upon their shoulders. The only way to get into this school was to be a high school student- and to be the absolute best in one's field. Byakuya, of course, was the Ultimate Heir- or Ultimate Affluent Progeny, if one were to sit through one of his lectures. Leon here was the Ultimate Baseball Star, while Makoto...

"Well, I _am _the Ultimate Lucky Student," Makoto shrugged, scratching momentarily at the back of his head. "Maybe I just happened to catch him in a good mood?"

Indeed... the Ultimate Luckster- nothing more, nothing less. His place in this school had been decided via lottery, of all things- no wonder it had taken him some extra time to fit in with everyone else.

"Well, that's the kind of luck we need around that guy, if you ask me," Leon shrugged, taking the lead. "You coming out to the culture festival today?"

Makoto started- "Oh, right! That's today!"

Leon laughed. "Leave it to you to forget something like that, huh?"

Makoto shied away, but didn't lose his smile- things like this were common from Leon's mouth- 'Only you would think to... only you would pick up on this..." he never meant any harm by it.

"One school, all decked out and ready to party!" he cheered. "C'mon, let's get some breakfast, and maybe we'll be on time to the maid café!"

Makoto shook his head in disbelief- _how _a maid café had been approved for this festival, he had no knowledge- perhaps it had something to do with one of the upperclassmen, Sonia Nevermind, known for her readiness to immerse herself in any Japanese culture or traditions without question- all one need do is let slip the idea in her presence, and her status as the Ultimate Princess may well do the rest.

"A maid café, hmm?" came a teasing voice from nearby. "Why, Leon, am I to understand that I'm not good enough for you?"

Leon turned furiously red as they turned to find Sayaka Maizono standing nearby, a slight look of mischief upon her face. Leon quickly defaulted to stuttering out excuses- "W-well, I- that is t-to say-"

Sayaka laughed lightly. "Just kidding- I've got no problem with it. I'm sure Makoto doesn't either~!"

It was Makoto's turn to blush. "Well- the thing about that is-"

"You two are so easy," Sayaka chuckled again. "C'mon- let's get some breakfast!"

She took the lead and guided them into the cafeteria, leaving Makoto, once again, to wonder how he'd gone from a normal high school student to eating meals with the Ultimate Baseball Star _and _the Ultimate Pop Idol.

True, he had known Sayaka before that time- when they had both been in middle school- but even so, he hadn't expected her to remember him, let alone to approach him in this brand new, elite academy.

As he was processing his thoughts, Leon was explaining Makoto's run-in with Byakuya. "-and then he walked away, just like that!"

"That's our little luckster!" Sayaka smiled cheerfully, patting him on the head like a child- he pulled away in embarrassment. "If anyone can break through that cold, hard shell of his, it's Naegi!"

"Yeah, ain't he something fuckin' special?"

The new voice, chiming in just as they took their seats, could only belong to the 'punk' persona of the school's resident fashionista, Junko Enoshima, fingers crossed in a classic rock symbol as her tongue hung haphazardly out of her mouth, her sister, Mukuro Ikusaba, at her side as ever.

"Hello, Junko," Makoto greeted tentatively- it paid to be cautious around this girl- she was notoriously unpredictable. "Are you going to the festival today?"

"Been there, done that," Junko waved aside. "Kick-ass!... But only entertaining for so long." Without missing a beat, she had switched into a far more depressed persona, clutching at her hair as her eyes trailed downward. Before they could get used to this, she had slipped a crown out of her bag and placed it jauntily atop her head, standing up straight like royalty. "These peasant's games can only keep our interest for so long!"

"Planning on shaking things up, huh?" Leon asked, a roughly equal amount of trepidation in his voice- even the infamous wannabe player was doing his best to avoid pressing Junko's buttons- for all the good it did.

"You could say that," Junko agreed, slipping back into her 'depressed' persona, pulling one of her pigtails in front of her face. "Keep an eye out, Lucky-boy- I just might surprise you."

"Oh- okay," Makoto blinked, surprised- and, admittedly, somewhat nervous- by a direct call-out from the school's most notorious mischief-maker.

Junko nodded listlessly, before turning on her heel, beckoning her sister to follow.

The three remaining students watched her go before Leon let out a low whistle. "I'd normally be jealous, dude, but you can keep all _that _chick's attention to _yourself._ Try to give me a signal before she does whatever she has planned, okay?"

"I'll do my best?" Makoto more asked than promised, before returning to his meal, making small talk with his two closest friends as he ate.

XXXX

At the conclusion of their morning meal, the three mutually agreed to start at the school's top, making their way down through the various booths within the school before exiting the building as the air began to cool down.

There were certainly plenty of booths to be found. They had barely left the cafeteria before being waylaid by Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Doujin Creator. "Mr. Naegi! Mr. Naegi!" he called out, drawing their attention. "Wouldn't you like to take a look at my latest products?"

Makoto closed his eyes- no, he didn't, not in particular, but it had been less than a week since his promise to serve as the rotund boy's partner in crime, so to speak, so he turned and headed over anyways.

He was surprised to find that Hifumi was not alone. "Celeste? I thought you'd be outside by now."

The Ultimate Gambler was dressed in her usual gothic-lolita attire, but it was currently accentuated by a rather large cardigan.

"Yes, well, I found the outside temperature unbearable, and this little pig offered me some of his royal milk tea should I do business alongside him," Celestia explained, taking a sip as she spoke.

"Well, if it's really that warm out, you could just ditch the cardigan," Leon pointed out.

Celestia glared at him. "Is that an ulterior motive I sense, Mr. Kuwata?"

Leon immediately raised his hands in surrender. "No! Of course not! I just thought, if it's too warm-"

"Not warm," Celestia interrupted. "Cold."

"Cold?" Sayaka asked, tilting her head in slight confusion, a finger raised to her chin.

"Cold," Celestia confirmed. "Even inside, I find the temperature atrociously low."

Makoto, Leon, and Sayaka exchanged looks of surprise. "It... it doesn't _feel _all that cold," Makoto said slowly.

"Well, that _is _impolite of you," Celestia spoke back, raising a hand over her mouth- a danger sign if there ever was one. "You should know that girls handle the cold far less well than boys."

Sayaka was on the verge of pointing out that _she _was hardly feeling the cold either, only to falter as Celestia shot a glare at her chilly enough to make up for the relative warmth of the hall.

Returning to her previous poise, Celestia chuckled lightly. "I _am _glad I taught this little piggy to properly brew tea- it has proven quite the wise investment."

"Oink, oink!" Hifumi expressed his content with the current arrangement.

At the top floor, they found the school's resident photographer, Mahiru Koizumi, transforming one of the unused classrooms into a makeshift darkroom, muttering to herself as she dashed around, developing several photos at once. Recalling the last time someone had interfered with this process, they wisely decided to move along.

The decision to abandon the floor altogether was made when they spied Yasahiro Hagakure, holder of the rather dubious title, Ultimate Clairvoyant, with his whopping 30% success rate. He was attempting to beckon them over, no doubt to offer one of his 'free samples,' something they had learned long ago to trust no more than emails from their cousins in Novoselic.

It was just as well- the fourth floor was where most of the games seemed to reside, resulting in them spending a few hours throwing darts, shooting at targets, and playing simple games of chance. Makoto lost each and every one, for all it mattered- he had long since learned that he was more or less the Ultimate Lucky Student in name only. Besides, he knew he was never going to beat Leon in any game that involved tossing darts or balls, nor Sayaka in other games of precision. He was content just to participate for now.

It was the third floor where they finally located the made café- as it had been some time by now since breakfast, they decided to stop in and grab a bite. Not much on the menu, but then, what else might one expect from this type of place? As Leon so succinctly put it, it was all about the... atmosphere.

It was to their surprise when they spied Aoi Asahina, the school's rather peppy Ultimate Swimmer, coming over to take their orders- accompanied by her close friend Sakura Oogami. But of course- where one went, the other followed.

Leon blinked in surprise, meeting Sakura's fierce gaze. "How...?"

"Donuts," the Ultimate Martial Artist answered before the question had been fully asked. All three nodded in understanding.

"Can I take your orders?" Hina asked brightly.

Well, there wasn't much other than ramen, so it was a decently easy pick. The three _did _falter a little when they saw the booth was being run by Teruteru Hanamura, Ultimate Chef and _proud _Ultimate Pervert- but they needed only remind themselves that Sakura was on scene to reassure themselves and move along.

From there, it was a relative breeze through the second floor and finally to the outside, where the real magic was happening.

Several of the school's most athletic students were sprinting around the track field, each being goaded on by Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager, watching from the sidelines. A stage had been erected, upon which Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician had gathered some other students, slapped instruments into their hands, and commanded them to play her hit single, _I Squeezed Out the Baby, but I Have No Idea Who the Father Is. _Her backup was... about as great as one might expect, but Ibuki seemed to be enjoying herself. The Ultimate Moral Compass, Kyotaka Ishimaru, was attempting to keep everybody in line, only making headway due to the intimidating presence of Mondo Owada, Ultimate Biker and Taka's rather unlikely friend. Squeezed between them was Chihiro Fujisaki, Ultimate Programmer and the third member of the trio.

The sun was starting to set when Makoto heard another voice asking for his attention.

"Naegi."

Short and to-the-point, he knew without looking that it was Kyoko Kirigiri, Detective Extraordinaire.

He looked anyways.

She was dressed in her usual detective attire, her long lavender hair falling freely, a single braid held in place by a small ribbon.

"Oh," Sayaka grinned. "Come on, Leon, let's give these two some time alone."

"Right," Leon nodded, a smile across his own face. "Let's go place some bets on the races- with Celeste inside, maybe we actually stand a chance!"

Makoto blinked, nonplused, as the other two disappeared into the crowd. "Uh... Kirigiri?"

"Have you been enjoying the festival thus far?" she asked.

Makoto blinked again- he doubted this was what she actually wanted to ask, but she was never one to beat around the bush. "Um... yeah, it's been pretty entertaining." Deciding to voice his concerns, he asked her. "Is... is something wrong?"

Kyoko drew closer, fixing his hazel gaze with her purple irises. "Have you noticed anything odd about Junko Enoshima lately?"

Makoto tilted his head. "Erm... Junko?"

"Yes- anything odd."

Makoto couldn't help chuckling a bit. "I mean... it's Junko. What counts as _normal _for her?"

He steadily stopped chuckling as Kyoko maintained a serious gaze. "...Is something wrong?" he finally repeated.

"No, not _per se,_" she denied, shaking her head slightly. "I just feel... there's something wrong, and my instinct tells me she is tied to it, somehow."

Makoto smiled. "You kinda sound like Sayaka right now."

"Sayaka?" Kyoko asked. "You don't say..."

"I mean, she's always talking about her instinct, too- I mean, she calls it _intuition, _but still."

He glanced around, absentmindedly zipping up his hoodie as the temperature seemed to drop imperceptibly. A slight wind was blowing across the grounds, and the sun was dipping, making it easy enough to disregard.

Finally, he spoke up. "Kyoko... would you mind going back to the festival with me?"

"Hm?" Kyoko asked, her eyes widening ever so slightly.

Realizing how that might be construed, he immediately raised his hands. "I mean, just as friends, of course! I mean, you're always so busy- if it's not with school, it's with detective work, I thought you might like to unwind, and maybe if you came with us, we could help you out with that, but if you don't want to-"

Kyoko merely raised a hand to silence him, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards _just _enough to be noticeable. "Perhaps you're right," she mused. "Perhaps I could use a break. Very well, Naegi, I would be glad to return to the festival alongside you."

Makoto smiled, on the point of turning around when he realized something odd.

It was quiet- unsettlingly so. He could still hear _some _of the hustle and bustle of the festival, but compared to the noise when he and the others had first left the building, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

His next cue that something was wrong was when he met Kyoko's eyes- they were wide in shock, bordering on horror. Her hand had raised to cover her mouth, leaving him with only one option.

He turned and followed her gaze up to the roof of Hope's Peak academy.

Perched at the very top was Junko Enoshima, her sister nowhere to be found. She stood erect, close enough to the edge for the toes of her designer boots to be hanging over the abyss. Her expression was difficult to make out from this far away, but he thought he could spy a smile, even as she gazed upon the onlookers below.

She was speaking. Calling out to her audience with all the strength she could muster. "HOPE YOU'RE DOWN THERE, LUCK BOY- THIS IS FOR YOU!"

She raised one foot, and without any further hesitation, stepped off the building.

Time seemed to slow around Makoto as he moved forward, uncertain what he would do- uncertain what he _could _do- only certain he had to do _something. _But every pace he took was another floor Junko streaked past on her way to the pavement beneath.

After a few seconds that seemed like hours, she landed with a sickening crunch.

Makoto staggered forward just long enough to bring her back into his field of view, hoping against hope that she might, in some way, still be alive.

He heard screaming around him- heard it, but didn't register. All his attention- all his senses- were for the girl laying, spread-eagle on the pavement before the school of hope, battered, broken, blood pooling around a skull that had been cracked like an eggshell. From this distance, he could make out her expression at last- despite her chosen method of death, she wore a great, beaming smile, empty eyes gazing up at a sky she could no longer see.

_XXXX_

Please R&R, constructive criticism embraced. Gamer4 out.


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